In February, the woman was able to give police a description of the car, which had a laptop with a silver sticker near the dashboard and a pair of plastic handcuffs hanging from the mirror, and a license plate number.

When detectives met with Bake, he said he would disprove the woman's story by showing them his gun, the charges state. His black and silver Smith & Wesson matched the woman's description and officers noticed a laptop on a makeshift stand in Bake's car, according to court documents.

Jurors also told attorneys they based their acquittal on problems with the investigation.

A Highway Patrol trooper spotted Bake's car on the day of the reported incident, but police did not search the vehicle for a week, Jarvis said.

"There was a six-day delay without recovering any evidence," she said.

Bake said he was driving on I-15 that day and at one point told the woman to slow down, but never threatened her, according to his attorney.

"The reality was she saw some cops stuff, or thought she did, and she embellished it into something so much more," Jarvis said.